Statement of Belief on the Sanctity of Marriage and the Protection of the Unborn
We the members of the First Baptist Church of Abbeville, SC want to go on record stating that we believe the Biblical record concerning marriage and the protection of the unborn.
The institution of marriage is God's unique gift to humanity. The framework of marriage is union of one man and one woman. We also want to state our belief that children are a blessing from the Lord and are a living soul from the moment of conception. Because God is the creator of life, mankind does not have the right to terminate an unborn fetus by abortion.
God is the author of marriage and human life. We pledge ourselves to the sanctity of marriage and the protection of the unborn.
1. About God
God is the Creator and Ruler of the universe. He has eternally existed as three persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. There is no division in their Nature, Essence, and Being. These three are co-equal in their nature, subordinate in their duties, yet together they co-exist as the only one true God. This Biblical understanding of God is often referred to as the “Trinity.”
Genesis 1:1,26,27, 3:22; Psalm 90:2; Matthew 28:19; 1 Peter 1:2; 2 Corinthians 13:14
2. About God the Father
God the Father reigns with providential care over His universe, His creatures and the flow of the stream of human history according to His purpose of Grace. He is all-powerful, all-loving, and all-wise. God is Father in Truth to those who become children of God through faith in Jesus Christ. He is Fatherly in His attitude toward all men.
3. About God the Son (Jesus Christ)
Christ is the Eternal Son of God. In His incarnation as Jesus Christ He was conceived of the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary. Jesus perfectly revealed and did the will of God, taking upon Himself the demands and necessities of human nature and of identifying Himself completely with mankind, yet without sin. He honored Divine law by His personal obedience, and in His death on the cross He made provision for the redemption of man from sin. He was raised from the dead with a glorified Body and appeared to His disciples as The Person Who was with them before the crucifixion. He ascended into heaven and is now exalted at the right hand of God, where He is the One Mediator, partaking of the nature of God and of man, and in Whose Person is effected the reconciliation between God and man. He will return in power and glory to judge the world and to consummate his Redemptive mission. He now dwells in all believers as Living and ever Present Lord..
Matthew 1:22, 23; Isaiah 9:6; John 1:1-5; 14:10-30; Hebrews 4:14,15; 1 Corinthians 15:3,4; Romans 1:3,4; Acts 1:9-11; 1 Timothy 6:14,15; Titus 2:13; Acts 4:12
4. About God the Holy Spirit
The Holy Spirit is co-equal with the Father and the Son of God. The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of God. He inspired holy men of old to write the Scriptures. Through illumination He enables men to understand the Truth. He exalts Christ. He convicts of sin, of righteousness and of judgment. He calls men to the Savior, and effects regeneration. He cultivates Christian characters, comforts believers, and bestows the spiritual gifts by which they serve God through His Church. He seals the believer until the day of the final redemption. His presence in the Christian is the assurance of God to bring the believer into the fullness of the stature of Christ. He enlightens and empowers the believer and the Church in worship, evangelism and service.
2 Corinthians 3:17; John 16:7-13, 14:16,17; Acts 1:8; 1 Corinthians 2:12, 3:16; Ephesians 1:13; Galatians 5:25; Ephesians 5:18
5. About the Bible
The Holy Bible was written by men divinely inspired and is the record of God’s revelation of Himself to man. It is the perfect treasure of Divine instruction. It has God for its Author, Salvation for its end, and Truth, without any mixture of error, for its author. It reveals the principle by which God judges us, and therefore is, and will remain to the end of the world, the true center of Christian union and the supreme standard by which all human conduct, creeds, and religious opinions should be tried. The criterion by which the Bible is to be interpreted is Jesus Christ.
2 Timothy 3:16; 2 Peter 1:20,21; 2 Timothy 1:13; Psalm 119:105,160, 12:6; Proverbs 30:5
6. About Human Beings
Man was created by the special act of God, in His own image, and is the crowning work of His creation. In the beginning man was innocent of sin and was endowed by his Creator with freedom of choice. By his free choice man sinned against God and brought sin into the human race. Through the temptation of Satan man transgressed the command of God and fell from his original innocence, whereby his posterity inherits a nature and environment inclined toward sin; and as soon as they are capable of moral action, men become transgressors and are under condemnation. Only the Grace of God can bring man into His fellowship and enable man to fulfill the creative purpose of God. The sacredness of human personality is evident in that God created man in His Own Image and in that Christ died for man; therefore, every man possesses dignity and is worthy of respect and Christian Love.
Genesis 1:27; Psalm 8:3-6; Isaiah 53:6a; Romans 3:23; Isaiah 59:1, 2
7. About Salvation
Salvation involves the redemption of the whole man and is offered freely to all who accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, Who by His own blood obtained eternal redemption for the believer. In its broadest sense salvation includes regeneration, sanctification, and glorification.
A. Regeneration, or the New Birth, is a work of God’s Grace whereby believers become new creatures in Jesus Christ. It is a change of heart wrought by the Holy Spirit through conviction of sin, to which the sinner responds in repentance toward God and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.
Repentance and faith are inseparable experiences of Grace. Repentance is a genuine turning from sin toward God. Faith is the acceptance of Jesus Christ and commitment of the entire personality to Him as Lord and Savior. Justification is God’s gracious and full acquittal upon principles of His righteousness of all sinners who repent and believe in Christ. Justification brings the believer into a relationship of peace and favor with God.
B. Sanctification is the experience, beginning in regeneration, by which the believer is set apart to God’s purposes and is enabled to progress toward moral and spiritual perfection through the presence and power of the Holy Spirit dwelling in him. Growth in Grace should continue throughout the regenerate person’s life.
C. Glorification is the culmination of salvation and is the final blessed and abiding state of the redeemed.
Romans 6:23; Ephesians 2:8,9; John 14:6, 1:12; Titus 3:5; Galatians 3:26; Romans 5:1
8. About Eternal Security
Because God gives us eternal life through Jesus Christ, the true believer is secure in that salvation for eternity. If you have been genuinely saved, you cannot “lose” it by anything that you might do or might not do. Salvation is maintained by the grace and power of God, not by the self-effort of the Christian. It is the grace and keeping power of God that gives us this security.
John 10:29; 2 Timothy 1:12; Hebrews 7:25, 10:10,14; 1 Peter 1:3-5
9. About Eternity
People were created to exist forever. We will either exist eternally separated from God by sin in a place of eternal torment called hell, or be eternally with God in heaven through His gift of forgiveness and salvation. To be eternally separated from God is Hell. To be eternally in union with Him is Heaven. Heaven and Hell are real places of eternal existence.
John 3:16; John 14:17; Romans 6:23; Romans 8:17-18; Revelation 20:15; 1 Cor. 2:7-9
